Making a new leveraction look old?

ernest haycox · Post by **ernest haycox** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:31 pm

Old guns have a great mystique and the individual history or imagined history isn't the only reason.Generally the wood was better{no polyurethane either},the blue was rust blue and the fit and finish was,as a rule,better.Even as a dumb kid in the early sixties this was very evident to me.My question is-Has anybody here tried to make a new gun look old?With the price of old guns so high lately i have given this a lot of thought.Rust blueing,for example:it seems doable.Iv'e done oil finishes before,each attempt came out better,with patience being the key.Anyway,just wondering....

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 8:21 pm

I have a few SAs that have been made to look old two were done by Burnt Mill Gunsmithing and one by me. I have never tried a lever but that is next. I like the feel of the worn smooth metal on a gun. Some of my guns got their look from me over years of wear by me, some from others, and some will end up like the former in time. I did mine by buying an original finished Cimarron Model P and using 00 steel-wool to smooth it out and cold blue to add bluing to the areas that receive the least wear. I think it turned out fine. It looks and feels good to me. The first two are from Burnt Mill and the last is the one I did.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 8:26 pm

just use them for a bunch of years, They will get to look like they should!

ernest haycox · Post by **ernest haycox** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 8:46 pm

Very well done!Your aging came out just as well as the gunsmith's did.There was a Foxfire book i wish i still had that described rust blueing techniques.The old timers used urine because they didn't have chemicals to initiate rust.I have a 336 i'm going to experiment with as soon as i study the situation more.Many thanks for the pics.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:04 pm

One of the reasons I like Bead-Blasted Stainless is that it has a kind of worn/"in the white" look to it.

I have a Cap & Ball gun that is waxed "in the white" and it does look rather similar to my BB Stainless guns.

ernest haycox · Post by **ernest haycox** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:15 pm

Elmer Keith said no gunman in the old west would have a shiny gun.Too easy to see.

YET HE CARRIED A NUMBER OF SHINY GUNS... PACO

runfiverun · Post by **runfiverun** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 10:47 pm

take them hunting for two weeks it will age them right up

Post by **Hobie** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 9:27 am

I just shoot them and carry them around in the truck. Does a right good job...

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 10:11 am

Not my cup of tea. As long as it's not done with the intent to fool a buyer... no problem.

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 10:59 am

I too have heard the urine method,
I have an old issue of rifle magazine that descibes a caustic brew for rust blueing that is made WITHOUT urine; and I have built a rust blueing cabinet.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:20 am

mescalero1 wrote:I too have heard the urine method...

. . . then I can think of quite a few politicians who need 'blued' . . . or maybe browned...

WCF3030 · Post by **WCF3030** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 12:08 pm

Put on boots, vest, grab son / dog head to the woods.
Takes awhile but well worth it.

Terry Murbach · Post by **Terry Murbach** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 12:14 pm

ernest haycox wrote:Elmer Keith said no gunman in the old west would have a shiny gun.Too easy to see.

WHERE DID HE SAY THIS AT ??
I KNOW FOR A FACT ELMER THOUGHT SAA NICKLE SIXGUNS WERE A GOOD IDEA FOR AN OUTDOORSMAN WHERE IT WAS TOUGH TO KEEP YOUR GUN CLEAN BACK IN THE HILLS.

ernest haycox · Post by **ernest haycox** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 1:58 pm

I have to look through the book "Sixgun"to find it.Before the weekend is over i will.It was in reference to fighting another man in a shootout.

ernest haycox · Post by **ernest haycox** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 7:40 pm

Terry,go to pg.149 of Elmer Keith's book,Sixguns.He mentions a strong dislike for silver,nickel or brass studs on a holster and says they "only reflect sunlight and announce your presence far and wide on the range".He goes on to say that''WE NEVER CARED FOR NICKEL OR SILVER PLATED GUNS FOR THE SAME REASON"Glad to clear up any questions about my veracity.

ernest haycox · Post by **ernest haycox** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 8:05 pm

Hi Paco! Talking about guns and having Paco join in is like pretending to be Bill Hickok and the real Bill Hickok steps into the room!God bless you and yours!As far as my topic goes,i think i'm still mourning trading my 2 old Marlins in a fit of stupidity.Now,in the past few years prices have gone out of sight.

oldgerboy · Post by **oldgerboy** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 8:07 pm

The "urine method" involved building a wooden box about a foot high, a foot deep, and long enough to hold the barrel and action to be blued. Line the bottom of the box with straw and suspend the parts above the straw. Apply urine to the straw by what ever method is the most accurate (

) but don't get it on the metal. Close the box and keep it near a source of warmth. Check on it daily and reapply the urine as needed. The barrel ends and what ever internal parts you do not want to rust should be plugged or protected.

Terry Murbach · Post by **Terry Murbach** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 8:37 pm

ernest haycox wrote:Terry,go to pg.149 of Elmer Keith's book,Sixguns.He mentions a strong dislike for silver,nickel or brass studs on a holster and says they "only reflect sunlight and announce your presence far and wide on the range".He goes on to say that''WE NEVER CARED FOR NICKEL OR SILVER PLATED GUNS FOR THE SAME REASON"Glad to clear up any questions about my veracity.

I DID NOT AND WOULD NOT QUESTON YOUR VERACITY, SIR. THE MOMENT I READ YOUR WORDS HERE I REMEMBERED READING IT TOO. I JUST COULD NOT REMEMBER BEFORE !!
NOW I CANNOT REMEMBER WHERE I READ ELMER SAYING HE THOUGHT NICKLE WAS OKAY ON A BACKWOODSMAN'S PISTOL....

ernest haycox · Post by **ernest haycox** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 9:01 pm

Terry,I apologise for taking you wrong.Guess I'm oversensitive today!

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 9:07 pm

Griff, The ones I did or had done are Cimarrons not Colts. No intent to fool a buyer. Burnt Mill does 26 different things to the Model P Cimarron to make these SAs look and shoot as well as they do. They are sweet. The one I did was because I did not like the way the "original finished" Model P looked in it's dull gray finish and I had too much time on my hands that day.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:20 pm

Never suspected so. Have a friend that likes his that way also, he sold a 2nd gen on Gunbroker that he'd done several years before, was completely upfront that it was a 2nd gen. I tried to buy it as it was .38spl, and I wanted to refinish for my wife... but someone else like it that way more than me! It is somewhat popular among cowboy action shooters. Me, I don't understand it... If I'm pretending to be a cowboy of the 1870s, and I just bought a new Colt... it'd look like a new Colt, not one that's 130 years old.

My comment was spawned by a Uberti I saw at the Ft. Worth Gun Show many years ago that had been remarked and aged... but... I've never seen a real 1st Gen Colt SAA with brass backstrap & trigger guard. Sometimes have to wonder, which is more stupid, buyers that fall for them or the seller that tell these lies.

Jaguarundi · Post by **Jaguarundi** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 1:02 am

To age a Gun is real simple.Let my son in law borrow it for hunting season.I only did it once mind you.

Slick · Post by **Slick** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:14 am

oldgerboy wrote:The "urine method" involved building a wooden box about a foot high, a foot deep, and long enough to hold the barrel and action to be blued. Line the bottom of the box with straw and suspend the parts above the straw. Apply urine to the straw by what ever method is the most accurate ( ) but don't get it on the metal. Close the box and keep it near a source of warmth. Check on it daily and reapply the urine as needed. The barrel ends and what ever internal parts you do not want to rust should be plugged or protected.

If the finisher should be dissatisfied with the results of said treatment - would he be considered as "upset off"?

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:52 am

Griff, good point on the 1870s cowboy.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 1:07 pm

To age a lever action rifle:

Buy new rifle.
Buy a new leather scabbard.
Buy a set of leather work gloves like the real cowboys used.
Get the gloves wet, bloody, dirty, work hardened.
Stick new rifle in leather scabbard.
Ride around in the range with the dust dirt and filth.
Handle the rifle frequently with the dirty work hardened gloves.

In a hurry you'll have a work worn rifle.

Same with your single action.

Most of my guns are 20+ years old and don't look worn. Some of them have thousands of rounds of ammo through them. Do I care that they still look new? Do I obsess about them not looking like the old Win 92 that KirkD posted a few days ago? Nope.

I just shoot 'em.

Joe

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:03 pm

Burnt Mill not only aged the finish of the Cimarron Model P but transformed it to a circa pre 1877 Colt SAA. I am not going to buy and shoot a pre 1877 Colt SAA BP or for that matter a Artillery Model Colt SAA BP. If I did, it would not be often. This was the best next thing. I wanted the feel and look of these period guns. To each his own, but here are the things they do to make them authentic to this period. I'm no Colt expert. I did not know there were that many subtle differences in the old BP Colt SAA and the modern day ones. It is not for everyone but they sure feel and shoot good.